3. Toss in the cubed bread. Fold with rubber spatula. Make sure the bread soaks up all the liquid.
4. Take an 1/3 cup measuring device and portion out a heaping amount of the bread batter into prepared muffin tin. Sprinkle with blueberries, almonds, and vanilla sugar. Place the pan in center rack in oven.

5. Bake for 25 minutes. Enjoy as is or add additional maple syrup or sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Tomorrow we are celebrating a very special birthday in our office. I try and always make a special treat for my coworkers birthdays. Tomorrow our birthday girl is taking a half a day so I don’t want to make a dessert. However I would still like to make a sweet treat in honor of her special day. And no one ever said you cannot have chocolate for breakfast….

I don’t think there is a better way than to celebrate with some chocolate….

This recipe yields 12 standard muffins

PRE directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take out your muffin tin and place paper liners in the tin and spray each with cooking spray.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup of whole wheat pastry flour

2/3 cup of granulated sugar or raw sugar

1 cup of greek plain fat free yogurt

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp kosher salt

3/4 cup of semi sweet or dark chocolate chips

2 large egg whites

5 TB canola oil

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together the yogurt, vanilla, and egg whites.

Add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix with a spatula. Be careful not to over mix. Once there is no signs of dry flour residue, fold in the chocolate chips.

Portion the muffins out using a # 16 scoop. You can make them a heaping amount if not you will have some batter left. And since whole wheat flour is more dense than regular All Purpose flour your muffins may not rise as much. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool in pan for 5 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from pan and allow to cool or enjoy warm.

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Fall will be here before we know it (11 days but who is counting). Some of the tree leaves are starting to turn yellow and red hues. My husband and I went running last weekend on one of our favorite trails and there were already some leaves hitting the limestone path. Fall in Western Pennsylvania is very beautiful and we are lucky to have all the seasons.

We were able to stop at my grandfather’s orchard last weekend. He always likes to show his apple trees, peach trees, and thriving garden. This is a picture of him and I below. I am trying to hold all the goods in just one hand. But the reality of it is we left with a cooler full of produce, several bags of kale, peaches, apples, and an 8.175 pound head of cabbage.

My grandpa’s apple trees have so many apples, he has to place posts under the branches to prevent the apples and branches from hitting the ground. He gave us some of his apples. I was able to incorporate them in the recipe today, along with my neighbor’s roasted pumpkin I freeze canned last year.

In the fall I make everything pumpkin and apple. I love the smell of these fruits baked in fall combined with cinnamon.

2. In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda, spices, & salt. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients just until moistened. Fold in apples. Cooking spray the lined muffin cups and use a # 16 scoop to fill the tins.

3. Bake the muffins at 350° for 19-21 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. I rotated my muffins halfway through for even baking. Remove from pan after 5 minutes have elapsed and allow to cool on wire rack.

Zucchini is a vegetable I know I could not live without. You can make just about anything with this adaptable vegetable. I don’t know if it is because growing up we always had it in the garden and we baked it and cooked it every which way we could (Zucchini Stuffing, Zucchini Pancakes, Zucchini Fries, Zucchini Sweet Pickles, Zucchini Quiche, Zucchini Mock Apple Pie). There is something about when it is baked with all my favorite spices, I find comfort in the memories created by my grandma and mom from growing up. If you grow zucchini in your garden, I am sure you know what I am talking about. And if you do not, I recommend you try to grow this summer vegetable. Summer squash is probably one of the easiest vegetables to grown; however, it will take over your garden so beware.

Today my grandpa and dad are coming down to the city to go to my husband and I’s favorite car show Vintage Grand Prix. I made these muffins to eat as we travel to the event. My husband this year is driving one of the minis for the track rides. I also sent him some to enjoy while he works hard at volunteering for the event.

Place the first 5 ingredients (applesauce, oil, flaxseed, sugar,& egg whites) into a large bowl. By hand whisk the ingredients together and set aside.

Take the next 7 ingredients (flours, oats,salt, baking powder, & spices) into a medium bowl whisk together to blend thoroughly.

Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients prepared batter. Fold together by using a rubber spatula.

Lastly add the zucchini, dates, and walnuts into the batter. Fold these ingredients into the batter. Be careful not to over mix.

Portion the batter into the prepared muffin tins using a number 16 scoop.

Bake for 16 minutes at 400 degrees, rotate half way throughor they might start to burn on the bottom. Check to see if they are done by using a toothpick and if when you insert the toothpick into the muffin and it comes out clean or with dry residue remove from the oven. Allow to cool in the tin for 1 minute and carefully remove the muffins from the tin (caution the pan will still be hot) and allow to cool the remainder of the way on a wire rack.

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We are hostessing our second annual Mother’s Day Brunch in a few weeks. I have been searching and planning the menu to honor our moms. I think we are going to go with a refreshing mini muffin.

When my husband & I first started dating we would always go to this adorable one of a kind pastry cafes which served mini muffins. The restaurant would always plate the dishes with a surprise mini muffin. Lemon poppyseed was often the mini muffin that would accompany our entrees. This flavor also just happened to be one of our favorites.

I thought I would trial these muffins in advance prior to our event. Spring is here even though temperatures dropped last night fairly low. My rhubarb is doing well with really big leaves. So recipes to come!!!!

I plan on making mini muffins since we have quite the menu planned for our brunch; however, today I did bake a standard size muffin for breakfast.

This recipe yields 15 standard muffins

Ingredients:

2 eggs

2 TB poppyseeds

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup plain fat free greek yogurt

1/2 cup low fat buttermilk

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 TB lemon Juice, freshly squeezed

1 lemon, zested

2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp baking powder

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Generously coat with cooking spray a muffin tin. I did use my stoneware pan for this recipe which I highly recommend.

2. Place the 1st 10 ingredients in a medium to large bowl. Whisk by hand the contents in the bowl to incorporate the ingredients together. Set aside.

3. Add the dry ingredients into the liquid batter. Be cautious not to over mix the batter.

4. Using a size 16 scoop place one generous scoop in each of the muffin crevices.

5. Bake the muffins in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 14-15 minutes. When the timer goes off check the muffins with a toothpick. If no wet residue comes out of the muffin on the toothpick remove them from the oven.

6. Allow the muffins to rest in the tin for 1-2 minutes.

7. Remove the muffins on to wire rack to allow to cool or serve warm! enjoy!

I love baking with banana’s. Banana muffins are delicious on their own. Today I thought I would take a spin off of the traditional banana muffin. I know often times recipes call for chocolate chips; however, not today. These muffins are moist, sweet, and spicy and not intended for little ones. These muffins will sure wake you up and get you going for the day. The ginger really comes on strong so if you do not like ginger they are not for you.

I adapted these muffins to incorporate greek yogurt to add moisture and protein. I only used whole wheat pastry flour which allows them to rise better than traditional whole wheat flour (so make sure not to interchange the two). I added flaxseed to add some omega 3 fatty acids. The ginger is a magical ingredient and research shows this spice can help with an upset stomach and improve digestion.

In a large bowl, mix with whisk greek yogurt, banana, flaxseed, vanilla and raw sugar. Add in egg and mix to combine. Set aside

In a medium bowl mix together, flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet greek yogurt mixture by folding the dry ingredients into the mix. Please make sure not to over mix muffins (you will create a tunnel effect with pointy muffins aka not very pretty).

Lastly fold in the candied ginger. Once again caution against over mixing.

By using a number 16 scoop portion out 12 standard muffins. Set aside.

By using a size 60 scoop portion out 12 mini muffins. Set aside.

Directions for the streusel topping:

In a small bowl mix together flour, sugar, cinnamon, candied ginger and canola oil.

Add about 1-1/2 TB to each muffin with the standard size and about 1/2 -1 TB to the minis.

Bake the standard muffins for 20-23 minutes at 350 degrees or until toothpick comes out clean. Bake the minis for 9-10 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the muffin from the tins and allow to cool on wire rack.

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I love using my grandfathers homemade horseradish in dishes. This one is unique since it calls for rosemary which adds a bit of flare. I love making these on the weekend. I often share them with my neighbors since there are only two of us or they freeze nicely.

2. In a small bowl mix the horseradish, salt, pepper, and eggs or egg substitute. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl mix biscuit mix, and milk to form sticky dough. Pour out dough onto a lightly floured clean countertop surface and use a rolling pin to evenly spread dough out into about 1/4 inch thick dough. Use a biscuit cutter or a glass about 3.5 inches to form biscuits.

4. Place the cut biscuit into the prepared muffin dish and press evenly up the side and into the tin. Add half the cheese evenly onto the biscuits (about a tsp or so in each). Also add 3-4 slices of the ham onto of the cheese (about half the ham). Add a few pieces of chopped peppers.

5. Divide the egg mixture into the cups evenly about 1/4 cup into each tin. Finish off the cups by adding evenly the remaining ham, pepper, & cheese.

6. Lastly dust with rosemary.

7. Bake the bites for 25 minutes or until the eggs are set. Keep the bites in the tins for 5 minutes on wire rack. Yield: serves 12

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Our neighbor brought us over some of his homemade jelly. He prepares the jelly from his Peach Plum Trees. He mentioned this is a tree his family used to have where he grew up in Mariland. I was trying to think of a good muffin to try the jelly on. This bran recipe came to mind. I cannot wait for them to come out of the oven and enjoy with some coffee!

I don’t know about you but I am counting down the days until spring. But despite the time frame it still continues to pour down snow in western Pa. For those of you not counting. It’s about 19.4 days according to my phone.

These muffins have one of my favorite spring ingredients …. Rhubarb. I still have some leftover in the freezer from last year. I figure why continue to hoard when I know it will be in abundance very soon.

This recipe yields 12 standard muffins using a size 60 scoop the portion.